The press has been filled with articles recently about drug mistakes in hospitals. The wrong drug given to the wrong patient…the right drug given to the wrong patient…and even the right drug given to the right patient but in the wrong dose (actor Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins)!
These articles got me to wondering about just how prevalent these medication errors are in nursing homes. We see them all of the time in our cases but do our cases reflect what is happening across the United States? Apparently so!
A 2005 study published in the American Journal of Medicine revealed that 1 out of every 10 nursing home residents has suffered a medication-related injury and that 73 percent of the most severe injuries, including internal bleeding and death, were preventable.
Not very encouraging news!